Shoe-lacing and fastening therefor.



No. 767,005. PATBNTED AUG. 9, 1904.

J. A. McCOY. SHOE LAOING AND FASTENING THEREFOR.

APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 0. 1903. H0 MODEL.

a zi iz UNITED ST TES Patented August 9, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

SHOE-LACING AND FASTENING THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,005, dated August 9, 1904.

Application filel August 20, 1903. $erial1l0. 170,109. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. MCCOY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sisson,

in the county of Siskiyou and State of Oalifornia, have invented new and useful 1m provements in Shoe-Lacings and Fastenings Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in shoe-lacings and in means for fastening them.

It consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter more fully described, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows method of lacing a shoe. Fig. 2 showsa metal cleat attached at the top of an upper. Fig. 3 shows two single attachments applied thereto. Fig. 4; shows a modification of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a detail of the sin gle hook member shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 6, a detail of a cleat substantially as shown in Fig. 2.

One method of lacing a shoe of the type shown in Fig. 1, provided with a lower series of eyelets 2 and an upper series of hooks 3 on each side of the opening, is to secure one end of the lacing to the shoe-upper near the lowermost eyelet and run the other end of the lacing through all the eyelets and carry the end up inside the shoe to the top of the upper. A loop portion of the lacing is left of considerable length intermediate of the two uppermost eyelets, which is then carried upwardly around alternate hooks and again downward around the intervening hooks until all are symmetrically engaged. the remaining slack of the lacing being taken up by pulling on the end of the string A, protruding above the top of the upper. The surplus lacing is then ordinarily tucked inside the shoe and is often diflicult to extract when it is desired to loosen the shoe. Usually for want of something better the operator anchors the lower end of the lacing by sewing it to the upper or by a knot too large to be drawn through an eyelet, but ul hich forms an inconvenient lump inside the s 10c.

I provide a suitable thin button, as 4:, preferably of metal, to which the anchor end of thelacing is centrally attached and which is adapted to lie perfectly flat against the instep and between the upper and tongue.

I secure the upper end of the lacing after the shoe is tightened on the outside of the upper in the following manner: In Fig. 2 I have shown a metal cleat 5, suitably secured to the side and adjacent to the top of the upper, as by the integral prong portions 6, with the spring members 7 bearing against the upper and having a central perforation 8 coincident with a hole in the upper, as shown, to

permit the lacing passing out through the fastening device, as 10, or if the attachment is to be put on heavy laced bootssueh, for example, as lmnbermen or surveyors W6L1'- and it is desired to separate the spring-clamp members more or less I may modify my invention, as shown in Figs. 3 or 4.

In Fig. 3 instead of using a single integral fastening, as just described, I employ two separate attachments, each comprising an eyelet 11, with a lateral spring-hook member 12. These attachments are secured in the side of the upper near the top at a suitable distance apart, with the hook membersstanding in line, but with the eyelet portions adjacent to each other. The lacing is passed from the inside of the shoe through one or the other of the eyelets and then engaged back and forth under the hooks as a cleat. The hooks are curved and adapted to engage the upper to clamp and hold the lacing.

In Fig. l practically the same spring-hook attachments are used; but a separate eyelet, as 13, is interposed between and in line with the hook members, through which the lacing is passed and thence wound around the hooks.

The hooks may be protected by a flap 9, having a suitable fastening 10.

A shoe or boot laced in this method and equipped with fastening devices as described is quickly tightened or loosened, looks always neat, and there are no knots to be tied or untied nor any loose ends or loops to become entangled.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination With a shoe having a lace-opening, of opposed spring-clamp members arranged longitudinally in line and extending in opposite directions and located on the same side of the said lace-opening, and an eyelet member or portion intermediate of the clamp members and through which the lacing may be passed said clasp members adapted to secure the ends or the lacing.

2. The combination With a shoe-upper, a lace-opening and the lacing means thereof, of an eyelet inserted in the upper at the side of the lacing means and said lace-opening and adapted to have the lacing passed transversely through it, said eyelet having a radial springnesses.

' JOHN A. MCCOY. Witnesses:

HENRY P. TRIGOU, S. H. NOURSE. 

